Hobie 16 Hulls

Are hobie 16 hulls interchangable? Meaning is there a true left and right hull or can you mix and match.

I have two hobie 16s. My main sailer is a 1974 hobie. I bought a 1984 hobie thinking I would take some of each hobie to make a 'new' hobie. I am going to move the travelers and other parts and that is all good. The bummer is my 1974 has a right hull that leaks, roughhly a gallon after a good sail. The 1984 has a good left hull but a damaged right one too. Can I take the two good left hulls and combine them into one boat? Are they interchangable?

Am I better off fixing the right hull on one of the boats instead of doing this interchange? The 1974 leaks about a gallon after a sail session. The 1984 would need the bottom totally re-glassed.

Lastly, the 1984 has a bulkhead access port on each hull if that is of any consideration or concern?

Thoughts?

they are definitely left and right. Designed to create lift. Not interchangeable from left to right.

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Division 10, Fleet 185
Hobie 17 and Hobie 14

I wouldn't think that a gallon (8 lbs) of water after a "sailing session" would be that big of a deal. I usually pull the drain plugs as I'm pulling up out of the water at the ramp, and have on various cats, gotten much more than a gallon. When you consider the percentage of the cat's weight that 8 lbs makes up, I'd think you'd have other things to be concerned about, in essence making that a "good" hull.

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Sea ya,
Chris Larsen
Co-Pilot of the Hobie Getaway
"The Twins"

~~(\_~~

Thanks for the advice and the reality check that a gallon of water isn't much to worry about.

I figured the hulls must not be interchangable but they sure look similar.

Have a great sail

You would be surprised how much a little silicone will fix those leaks.

Scrape off and re apply silicone around the pylons

Remove the gudgeons (many suggest leaving one screw in to ensure the plate in the stern doesn' fall out. I have never heard of this happening so I don't know if that is appropriate or not) and re apply silicone around the screw holes.

Do the same for the drain plug. Remove the plug, remove the screws, caulk and re apply

I have also heard some people sealing the deck to hull joint, but have never done that myself

Finally, check and see if there are obvious cracks or extreme wear marks on the hull itself. Repair as necessary

You can your a soap test to look for leaks, but as you will see from advice here, be careful NOT to overpressurize the hull as it will cause other issues.

As for hull ports, if installed properly, they are OK, but are in a critical part of the boat where there is a lot of stress. So, if NOT insatlled and sealed properly (meaning if the edges of the hole and the screw holes were not properly sealed when the port was installed) and any moisture gets into the substrate around the port holes, they will lead to delamination of the deck.

Good luck!